laravel/framework · error · RuntimeException

Please install the "spatie/fork" Composer package in order t

Error message

Please install the "spatie/fork" Composer package in order to utilize the "fork" driver.

What it means

Thrown by ConcurrencyManager::createForkDriver() when the Fork class (spatie/fork) is not present in the autoloader. The fork driver depends on the optional spatie/fork Composer package, which is not bundled with Laravel. RuntimeException prompts the user to install it.

Source

Thrown at src/Illuminate/Concurrency/ConcurrencyManager.php:52

    {
        return new ProcessDriver($this->app->make(ProcessFactory::class));
    }

    /**
     * Create an instance of the fork concurrency driver.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Concurrency\ForkDriver
     *
     * @throws \RuntimeException
     */
    public function createForkDriver()
    {
        if (! $this->app->runningInConsole()) {
            throw new RuntimeException('Due to PHP limitations, the fork driver may not be used within web requests.');
        }

        if (! class_exists(Fork::class)) {
            throw new RuntimeException('Please install the "spatie/fork" Composer package in order to utilize the "fork" driver.');
        }

        return new ForkDriver;
    }

    /**
     * Create an instance of the sync concurrency driver.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Concurrency\SyncDriver
     */
    public function createSyncDriver()
    {
        return new SyncDriver;
    }

    /**
     * Get the default instance name.
     *

View on GitHub (pinned to bd6b5437e6)

Solutions

1. Install the package: composer require spatie/fork.
2. Ensure composer install runs in all deploy/CI environments (not --no-dev if it's a dev requirement).
3. If fork isn't available, switch the driver to 'process' or 'sync'.

Example fix

// before
// fork driver requested but package missing

// after (shell)
composer require spatie/fork

if (! class_exists(\Spatie\Fork\Fork::class)) {
    config(['concurrency.default' => 'process']);
}

function forkAvailable(): bool { return class_exists(\Spatie\Fork\Fork::class); }

try {
    $driver = app(\Illuminate\Concurrency\ConcurrencyManager::class)->driver('fork');
} catch (\RuntimeException $e) {
    $driver = app(\Illuminate\Concurrency\ConcurrencyManager::class)->driver('process');
}

When it happens

Trigger: Requesting the 'fork' driver without having run composer require spatie/fork. Also after a fresh deploy where composer dependencies were installed with --no-dev and spatie/fork was a dev requirement, or after removing it.

Common situations: New project enabling concurrency with the fork driver for the first time. CI/deploy environments missing optional packages. Team members who didn't run composer require after pulling.

Related errors

• Due to PHP limitations, the fork driver may not be used with
• Concurrent process failed with exit code [$result->exitCode(
• A container implementation is required to use the scheduler.
• To enable support for closure jobs, please install the illum
• Unable to resolve the dispatcher from the service container.

AI-assisted analysis of laravel/framework@bd6b5437e6 (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/4e8846db723cace4.json. Report an issue: GitHub.